Standard Life has reneged on its promise to cover the mortgage shortfalls of 600,000 endowment customers. The insurer said the 6 per cent annual capital growth condition required for its 2000 promise has not been met, and is not likely to be met in the foreseeable future.

Standard Life has also introduced a deadline for mis-selling complaints on mortgage endowments. For most customers, complaints must be lodged by May 2006.

The moves have heightened speculation that Norwich Union will break a similar mortgage promise covering 800,000 policyholders. Norwich Union has already slapped a time bar on complaints but says it has no plans to alter its mortgage pledge.

The question is whether time bars on complaining will force more people into the hands of the complaints- handling firms, which are doing great business on the back of the mortgage endowments scandal.

Employing a firm to handle your claim on a 'no win, no fee' basis can seem attractive. A quick search of the internet reveals several such firms. A site called www.complain2us.com (tel: 0845 4554550) takes as payment 34 per cent of any compensation awarded (this is not applied to the cash in value of your endowment policy). CPH financial advisers (www.endowmentpayback.co.uk, tel: 0800 801487) offers a similar service in return for 25 per cent of any compensation awarded, while Endowment Solutions (www.endowmentsolutions.co.uk, tel: 01784 224408) charges 20 per cent.

Mike Kosifou, technical manager at Complain2us, says: 'The client gives simple details online at the outset on our fast claim form. We then send them an authority form, an endowment mortgage questionnaire and a mortgage history form.'

David Cresswell, spokes-person for the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) says: 'We always point out that it is entirely up to the consumer what they want to pay someone to handle a complaint for them. However, we have no reason to believe that the outcomes of complaints handled by complaints agencies are different from those that come to us direct. We refute the idea that these agencies know what strings to pull.

'There is still a certain amount of work that a consumer will have to do. You will have to rummage around for paperwork from, say, 15 years ago and you will have to fill in a lengthy form. It is ironic that some complaints agencies who claim to do the work actually just send the ombudsman questionnaire to the consumer with the FOS logo chopped off.'

Cresswell points out that the way in which mortgage endowment compensation is awarded is to put you in the same financial position you would have been in had you taken out a repayment mortgage.

There is no award for the inconvenience or distress caused. Therefore, if you have to pay someone else, you'll lose out. In most cases compensation would be between £3,000 and £5,000.

Bear in mind that complaints-handling agencies don't have to be authorised and they are not regulated. Indeed, it is not unknown for the Financial Ombudsman Service to receive complaints about the complaints-handling firms.

If you want to handle your own complaint, the FOS website has advice (www. financial-ombudsman.org. uk or tel: 0845 080 1800). Which? (www.which.net/endowmentaction, tel: 0845 307 4000) even helps write the letter of complaint for you - for free.

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